So the question is: Would it matter much if the composition is changed?
I've heard that dragon control is especially important, thus bottom deserves to be duo. But why not duo mid? It's still close to the dragon, and plus, I feel like the mid turret needs a bit more protection over top/bot turret because mid is the closest distance between two nexuses. So wouldn't it make a bit more sense to have duo mid? (So that two people can guard mid, not just one.)

And why not the tanky top laner be at mid, and AP Carry be at top? They're both solo laners, so what difference does it make?

Hope someone can clear up my year-long confusion. Thanks! :)

[quote=DDarkray]Hello. I've been playing LoL for almost a year right now. In most games that I've been playing, the laning composition is something like this:
SOLO TOP: Usually an offtank (or just tanky in general).
SOLO MID: AP Carry.
DUO BOT: AD Carry + Support.
JUNGLE: Jungler.
So the question is: Would it matter much if the composition is changed?
I've heard that dragon control is especially important, thus bottom deserves to be duo. But why not duo mid? It's still close to the dragon, and plus, I feel like the mid turret needs a bit more protection over top/bot turret because mid is the closest distance between two nexuses. So wouldn't it make a bit more sense to have duo mid? (So that two people can guard mid, not just one.)
And why not the tanky top laner be at mid, and AP Carry be at top? They're both solo laners, so what difference does it make?
Hope someone can clear up my year-long confusion. Thanks! :)[/quote]

AP goes mid generally, as that is closest to all the other lanes (mid tends to snowball and gank more than other lanes). Mid also is close to blue buff no matter what side they are on. Lastly, AP mids tend to be fragile, so a shorter lane to escape ganks is useful. It also is the quickest route to the enemy base, like you said.

You're duo mid lane sample leaves you without a jungler. You are gonna get your buffs taken by the enemy team, and the enemy jungle will be extremely powerful, ganking nearly non-stop with double buffs.

In low ELO, or for fun, it's fine to change the meta. The reason why the current one is so strong, is that it's proven to work. Doesn't mean that not playing by it is bad, as you can throw your opponents off their game, but stronger players will quickly adapt and take advantages of the weaknesses in your new changed composition.

[quote=Jpikachu1999]AP goes mid generally, as that is closest to all the other lanes (mid tends to snowball and gank more than other lanes). Mid also is close to blue buff no matter what side they are on. Lastly, AP mids tend to be fragile, so a shorter lane to escape ganks is useful. It also is the quickest route to the enemy base, like you said.
You're duo mid lane sample leaves you without a jungler. You are gonna get your buffs taken by the enemy team, and the enemy jungle will be extremely powerful, ganking nearly non-stop with double buffs.
In low ELO, or for fun, it's fine to change the meta. The reason why the current one is so strong, is that it's proven to work. Doesn't mean that not playing by it is bad, as you can throw your opponents off their game, but stronger players will quickly adapt and take advantages of the weaknesses in your new changed composition.[/quote]

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The answer to both questions is that bot and top lane are longer and shaped differently to mid lane.

If you put your duo mid, they have less opportunity to zone and deny the opposing laner because the lane is shorter and most AP carries will still be able to farm from the safety of their turret. In bot lane, you can use the brush and the length of the lane to zone opponents away from minions more easily and for a longer duration. If you have a 2v1 bot, you can completely zone out or kill the enemy laner. If you have a 2v1 mid, the most you can really do is lower their CS a bit.

If you put an AP carry in top lane, they have to have some kind of innate escape mechanism because top lane is longer and easier to gank than mid. It's also much easier to get denied and snowballed out of the game if you fall behind. Examples: Vladimir and Kennen.

Edit: Like Jpikachu said, being in the middle of the map also allows your AP to roam and pick up kills when they're at their strongest.

[quote=Luther3000]The answer to both questions is that bot and top lane are longer and shaped differently to mid lane.
If you put your duo mid, they have less opportunity to zone and deny the opposing laner because the lane is shorter and most AP carries will still be able to farm from the safety of their turret. In bot lane, you can use the brush and the length of the lane to zone opponents away from minions more easily and for a longer duration. If you have a 2v1 bot, you can completely zone out or kill the enemy laner. If you have a 2v1 mid, the most you can really do is lower their CS a bit.
If you put an AP carry in top lane, they have to have some kind of innate escape mechanism because top lane is longer and easier to gank than mid. It's also much easier to get denied and snowballed out of the game if you fall behind. Examples: [[Vlad]] and [[kennen]].
Edit: Like Jpikachu said, being in the middle of the map also allows your AP to roam and pick up kills when they're at their strongest.[/quote]

However, this does not mean changes cannot happen; at times, it is good for the carry to take up mid, or to switch the topper with the midder. Per example, your solotop picked a champ thinking they were going to lane versus X, but instead they had Y which is a huge counter. Maybe your mid can do well against that guy, and it happens that your top can at least lane better versus their mid.

Taking the carry mid often has to do with their own mid pick. Caitlyn's range, per example, let's her lane versus many mids. And let's not forget people constantly ban Kassadin, who is anti-mage, due to the meta, when they could simply put the AD carry versus Kass and rape his face (who cares if he silenced your carry? Your auto-attacks are ranged, his are melee, and two probably deal as much damage as Kass's Q)

However, it's also known that changing the meta at mid ELO will make people rage against you calling you a dumb noob.

[quote=FalseoGod]However, this does not mean changes cannot happen; at times, it is good for the carry to take up mid, or to switch the topper with the midder. Per example, your solotop picked a champ thinking they were going to lane versus X, but instead they had Y which is a huge counter. Maybe your mid can do well against that guy, and it happens that your top can at least lane better versus their mid.
Taking the carry mid often has to do with their own mid pick. Caitlyn's range, per example, let's her lane versus many mids. And let's not forget people constantly ban [[Kassadin]], who is anti-mage, due to the meta, when they could simply put the AD carry versus Kass and rape his face (who cares if he silenced your carry? Your auto-attacks are ranged, his are melee, and two probably deal as much damage as Kass's Q)
However, it's also known that changing the meta at mid ELO will make people rage against you calling you a dumb noob.[/quote]